Improvement in mop and brush holders



C.. B. CLARK.I

' Mor AND BRUSH-HOLDER.

No. 170,525. Patented Nov. 30,1875.

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NITRD- `STATES.

PATENT, OFFICE.

oHARLEs B. CLARK, von BUFFALO, New YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN MOP AND BRUSH HOLDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 170,`525, dated November 30, 1875 application filed November 178, 1875.

To all whom'zt may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES B. CLARK, of the city ot' Buffalo, county oi' Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and uset'ul Improvement in Mop and Brush Holders, which improvement is fully set forth inthe following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l represents a side view of my improvement, partly in section, showing the manner ot' holding a brush. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a front View.

Similar letters-indicate corresponding parts.

My invention relates to certain improvements in that class of mop and brush holders for which Letters Patent ofthe United States were granted to me August 31,1875, No. 167,304. 1tconsists in makingthe arm of the movable jaw with a plain or continuous bear# ing-edge, and in so arranging the arm, relatively to the thumb-nut on the lxed jaw, that the nut impinges against the arm between its fulcrum and outer end, whether the holder is used for clamping a mop or a brush, as I will hereinafter more fully explain.

My invention consists, also, in providing each ofthe jaws of the holder with an inner row of teeth, forming a rest for the brush and assisting in holding the mop, the teethof one jaw being arranged so as to alternate with those ofthe other jaw, when the jaws are shut; and by this arrangement I am enabled to make the teeth of great length, and to close the jaws tightly on each other and on the mop.

In-thc drawing, the letter A designates the fixed jaw, and B is the movable jaw, ot' my holder. The shank of the fixed jaw A is provided with the usual socket C for the reception of a handle, D, and is provided with a slot or mortise, E, in which the arm of the movable jaw B is hinged by a rivet, a. 0n

the slotted shank of the fixed jaw A is formed a screw-thread', b, which is made to terminate opposite the fulcrum a of the movable jaw, while on the shank is placed a thumb-nut, F, the pitch of whose thread corresponds to the thread b. The thumb-nut F is prevented from being screwed oft' the threaded shank in the direction of the handle D by the head of a rivet, o, which is driven through the shank for the purpose of fastening it to the handle-V The arm ot' the loose jaw B is made with a plain edge, G, which forms the soleibearing of the thumb-nut F on that arm when the nut is screwed forward for the purpose of tightening the movable jaw B on the fixed jaw A, and the bearing thus formed is continuous or without interruption, in contradistinction to theclass otl mop and brush holders hitherto used, inwhich the arm of the movable jaw has either lateral or inner projections, and the clamping-nut is 'made to iinpinge on the movable jaw at two points. The arm of the movable jaw B is made to project outward only in the direction of its jaw, and from only one side of'the slot, and is devoid of inner or lateral projections. The shank ol' the fixed jaw, on the side opposite to that where the movale jaw is placed, has a straight edge, O, over which the nut travels, so that theforward end of the nut is provided with a continuous bearing-surface along the shank of the tixed jaw. When the arm ot' the movable jaw has been swung into the slot tograsp a mop, as shown in Fig. 2, the front inner edge ot' the nut has a goodV bearing-surface along the line o, as well as along the edge G oi' the movable jaw, and frictional contact is obtained on both bearings, so that the nut is held quite securely.

v It will be observed that by my construction and arrangement the arm ot the movable jaw is continually pressed more and more into the slot as the nut travels forward on the screwthread b, and the outer edges of b oth jaws become embraced by the nut as it nears the end of its movement, so that the inner surface of the nut, on its two opposite sides, is brought` into action in pressing the jaws against each other.

In order to clamp a brush between the jaws A B, the thumb-nut Fis screwed back toward the handle, when the jaws A B are free to be swung apart, and the brush may be placed between them. The brush is placed between the jaws, and then the'nut Fis screwed forward until its front end impinges against the bearing-edge G ot' the loose jaw, as seen in Fig. l, and until the nut presses the jaw tightly against the brush.

When a mop-cloth is to be used instead of the brush, the space between the jaws B isL that simply made smaller by screwing the nut F forward to a greater extent than is required for clamping the brush, the nut always impinging on the same plain bearing-edge Gr of the jaw-arm.

In the class of mop and brush holders hitherto used a considerable retrograde movement ofthe thumbnut is required before the loose jaw can be liberated at one point to grasp at another point, owing to the fact that the nut impinges against the movable jaw in two places. Such holders, moreover, have the disadvantage that they grasp an article only after the movable jaw is brought to or has passed a certain position. By making the arm of the movable jaw B with a plain bearing-edge, G, and without any .projections in an inner or lateral direction, the

thumb-nut F impinges against the arm always between its fulcrum a and the outer end or jaw propenand hence the necessary movement of the thuln b-nut Fis reduced to a minimum, while the jaw is adapted to grasp a brush or mop at any point of its movejuent.A

Another important advantage of my arrangement of the arm ofthe loose jaw B is, that the slot E in the fixed jaw can be made shorter than in the old class of holders, where by the strength of the shank is materially increased.

On the inner surface of each of the jaws A B are formed a double row of teeth, d e, which serve to bind and hold the mop-cloth, when the holder is used for a mop. When the holder j arrange the outerrow of teeth d of either jaw so as to alternate with the other when the jaws are shut, while the inner row of teeth are placed directly opposite and face each other.

It is obvious that bythis arrangement f the inner row of teeth the length of eachtooth is limited to one-half the space between the jaws, if the jaws shut tightly on each other.

The inner row of teeth e of the jaws A B of` jaws are permitted to shut tightly on each other, and are adapted to take a very firm` gripe of the mop-rag.

What- I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,.is-

1. The mop and brush holder herein `described, consisting of the xed jaw A, thumbnut F, and the movable jaw B, having an arm constructed with a single plain bearing-edge,

G, so that by the action oi' the nut on one and the same bearing-edge the jaws can be `closed for holding either a mop or a brush, the whole being constructed and operating substantially as shown and described.

2. rIhe jaws A B, each having a series of` teeth, e, alternating witheach other, and with a series, d, so that the former permit `the latter to close upon each other, substantially as described. g`

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 12th day of November, 1875.

CHARLES B. CLARK. [Lgs] Witnesses:

WM. W. CLARK, C. J. CHRETIEN. 

